Retired Florida State Head Coach Bobby Bowden Reveals He Had Prostate Cancer in 2007

Former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden disclosed that he kept treatment for prostate cancer in the spring of 2007 under wraps so that others wouldn't use the information against him while recruiting star players.

Bowden's revelation comes as part of his agreement to be a spokesperson for On The Line, a prostate cancer education initiative.

Bowden, 81, is encouraging men to get themselves checked for prostate cancer.

"If I knew then what I know now, I would have considered it my moral duty to bring it out in the open. I thought it was the right thing to do then, but that's not the message now," he said.

Whether Bowden made the right call in protecting his program's image while he privately battled the disease is a matter of debate, but it shows the lengths coaches will go to stay ahead of the competition.